Tires at 110mph

[mckenna4978]

Yep Michelin pilot sports, 110 mph and TPMS DIL equals a flatbed tow from AAA Motorclub. The puncture was substantial with toxic green slime oozing from the puncture like a novice new year's drunk. The redemption---Tirerack bought Michelin Pilot Sports and within the 2 yr. warranty period. 100% compensated for the tire itself minus balancing, install and TPMS sensor. A little leg work for warranty claim but nothing substantially painful. New tire arrives tomorrow with fitment from tire shop in which I'll bring it home and slap it on while the vehicle is up on jack stands. Wish I had a spare but it eats up too much trunk room. Tried the mobility kit, tire plug, etc. It was like a bullet ripped through it. On a side note, do not plug the tire or have it patched. It delineates the speed rating according to installer because the integrity has been compromised. The car was solid and steered almost true winding down from that speed to a complete stop on the roadway shoulder. What an experience....

[chickdr]

Interesting comment about repairing the tire. I have used plugs/patches on many tires over the years and had them at highways speeds and above many times with no issues. If I was tracking the car a lot I probably wouldn't patch it, but for on road use why not? How often are we hitting 100+ mph anyway?

[mckenna4978]

On a side note, law enforcement doesn't even patch or plug tires due to liability issues. You turn the old rim in with punctured tire and receive a new rim with tire which you have to put on. That's how particular it is...true I don't normally hit that speed mark but other imperfections/pot holes in the roadway could be deadly to a plug.

[ajd0002]

110 mph.....on public roads??

[chickdr]

Again, for cop cars I understand as they may be called on for a high speed chase at any time. If plugs & patches were such an issue I don't think tire shops would do them - for liability concerns. That being said, if you have the money to burn to replace a damaged tire, why not?

[mckenna4978]

Exhibit A- tire that was plugged(mine) about 2 weeks after I got them new whereby a nail found it's way in. The tire plug blew out with the remnants encircling the hole at that speed. Even tirerack states their policy about bmw, audi, porsche, etc. Tires will be reimbursed at the time of original purchase price plus the cost of ground shipping. I paid about $20 for a brand new tire, mounting at shop $10, new tpms if necessary $49. If you use tire slime, fix a flat or bmw mobility kit chances are your tmps is fried. I should have just tried to plug the tire and use the mobility compressor to inflate. If that didn't work, go to plan flatbed tow and call it a day. I could of reused the old tpms and it wouldn't have been tainted. BMW wants @ $120 for a new Huff brand oem sensor/stem. No idea to code and mount/balance tire. I don't like to throw away $$$$ but my summer toy needs to move otherwise what's the sense of ownership.

[elerner61]

Originally Posted by ajd0002

110 mph.....on public roads??

//M for "more speed".

[chickdr]

Your example shows that anything can happen for sure. On the other hand I have a 2011 Toyota Tacoma which I bought used in 2013 with 22k on the clock. It has its original tires which now have 52k miles on them. One of the tires had a plug when I bought the truck(at the outer edge of the tread mind you). I have driven the truck many times at speeds up to 100mph(about the top speed of the 2.7l Tacoma) with absolutely no issues whatsoever. I suspect a patch on the tire you showed above would work perfectly considering where the damage is located.

[XMetal]

Did you plug that yourself? A good tire shop should dismount the tire and apply the plug from the inside, then put a patch over or use a plug/patch combo like the picture attached. I have never had issues with plugging/patching on tires, unless it's very close to the sidewall, in which case, I'll buy a new tire. It's true that the tire won't be rated the same after the patch, but we never drive anywhere near the tire's ratings anyway (unless you're tracking it).

[chickdr]

Yes- that patch you showed put on from inside is the ultimate way to fix a hole. The plug in my tire is one of the ones put in from the outside and it still worked well. I suspect the plug in the OP's tire was not installed correctly and worked its way out over time(or at high speeds). A great product which works from the outside is a dynaplug. As you can see, it will be pretty secure once installed.

[StickMon]

Haven't had to plug the bimmer yet, but I've used the good old "yarn" style on my MR2, Camry, and Suburbans several times and never had a failure.
Routinely 110-115 mph in the MR2.
Ran each set right down to bald and the plugs always held fine.

[mckenna4978]

The shop used one of the tar yarn style plugs pictured in stickmons reply. The had the luck of the Irish though, the tpms was not fouled enough with slime yet to be defective. Opened the owners manual and did a reset of tpms system and voila...no tpms dil on dash! Just curious what everyone is setting their tired at? Bmw owners manual for z4 versus z4m have different pressures for the tires. Door Mylar sticker says 30psi frt/rear. Z4m owner's manual says frt 30psi rear 32psi. Any input?

[mckenna4978]

Sorry about spelling. Using a samsung android with hot dog finger syndrome and auto correct.

[itdnwiwbp]

Originally Posted by StickMon

Haven't had to plug the bimmer yet, but I've used the good old "yarn" style on my MR2, Camry, and Suburbans several times and never had a failure.
Routinely 110-115 mph in the MR2.
Ran each set right down to bald and the plugs always held fine.

Attachment 1451101

Good to hear these work as they're what I keep in my car...along with the spare that only fits the rear and various other tools including everything necessary to remove the front bumper in case I have to get the car on a tow truck.

I had always planned to use it in an emergency then take it to a tire shop for a proper repair. Is that even possible after using these plugs or are they really good to go for the long haul?

[StickMon]

They've been good for life for me.
I used to pump gas in a real "Service Station" in the '70s.
Back then, that was a "proper repair".

Edit: As always, YMMV.

[Clearancediver]

Personally I would use the yarn style plug as a temporary repair only.... With a proper repair/plug and patch at first opportunity.

[mckenna4978]

No need to remove bumper just use tow hook that us supplied in the bmw tool kit. Take out cover, install tow hook and connect to flatbed winch. Once up on the bed and level tow driver will go to undercarriage, put e brake on and set it in first gear. No need to take off the bumper. What is important is having a board 2"x6" to transition from ground onto flatbed. Experienced tow drivers carry them for vettes porsches etc. because car sits so low.

[itdnwiwbp]

Originally Posted by mckenna4978

No need to remove bumper just use tow hook that us supplied in the bmw tool kit. Take out cover, install tow hook and connect to flatbed winch. Once up on the bed and level tow driver will go to undercarriage, put e brake on and set it in first gear. No need to take off the bumper. What is important is having a board 2"x6" to transition from ground onto flatbed. Experienced tow drivers carry them for vettes porsches etc. because car sits so low.

I'm too low to get on a tow truck. <3.5" in the front.

[dc_wright]

Originally Posted by itdnwiwbp

I'm too low to get on a tow truck. <3.5" in the front.

All of us are, even at stock height as are most sports cars. I haven't seen a tow truck in the last 5 years that didn't carry some planks to allow low cars to make the transition onto the flat bed. If I needed to be towed and the truck showed up without them, I'd refuse the tow and contact AAA to tell them the truck they sent wasn't proper for my car, and the driver wasn't properly trained.

[XMetal]

Originally Posted by dc_wright

All of us are, even at stock height as are most sports cars. I haven't seen a tow truck in the last 5 years that didn't carry some planks to allow low cars to make the transition onto the flat bed. If I needed to be towed and the truck showed up without them, I'd refuse the tow and contact AAA to tell them the truck they sent wasn't proper for my car, and the driver wasn't properly trained.

You haven't seen Tony's car. It's LOW with a front APR splitter to boot. It will probably need 1/2 a mile of 2x4s to get it onto the flatbed

[itdnwiwbp]

Originally Posted by dc_wright

All of us are, even at stock height as are most sports cars. I haven't seen a tow truck in the last 5 years that didn't carry some planks to allow low cars to make the transition onto the flat bed. If I needed to be towed and the truck showed up without them, I'd refuse the tow and contact AAA to tell them the truck they sent wasn't proper for my car, and the driver wasn't properly trained.

The only time I've needed a tow was with my stock ride height 3.0si years ago. The bumper scraped the truck even with ramps...so I carry tools to remove my bumper in the event of an emergency. If your's gets on a tow truck without incident, I'm jealous. Again, I'm very low with a splitter - terrible approach angle.

[itdnwiwbp]

Originally Posted by XMetal

You haven't seen Tony's car. It's LOW with a front APR splitter to boot. It will probably need 1/2 a mile of 2x4s to get it onto the flatbed

Hehe. Thanks, Ken.